Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham
Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham, of Merton Hall, Norfolk, was an English politician and amateur entomologist.
Family business
Walsingham was the son of Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham, and Augusta-Louisa, daughter of Sir Robert Frankland-Russell, 7th Baronet. He was born on Stanhope Street in Mayfair, the family's London house. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He sat as Conservative Member of Parliament for West Norfolk from 1865 until 1870, when he succeeded to the title and estates of his father, and entered the House of Lords. From 1874 to 1875 he served as a Lord-in-waiting in the second Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli. From 1870 on he also ran the family's estate at Merton, Norfolk, served as trustee of the British Museum and performed many other public functions.Lepidoptery
Walsingham was a keen lepidopterist, collecting butterflies and moths from a young age, and particularly interested in Microlepidoptera. His collection was one of the most important ever made, which after his purchase of the Zeller, Hofmann and Christoph collections contained over 260,000 specimens. He donated it to the Natural History Museum, along with his library of 2,600 books.Walsingham was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1887, and was a member of the Entomological Society of London, serving as president on two occasions. He married three times, but left no heir, and was succeeded as Baron by his half-brother. He married his third wife, the widow Agnes Dawson née Hemming, in 1914. Her daughter was Margaret Damer Dawson.